


Outsideren

by melodiesofliv



Category: Frozen (2013), Tangled (2010), The Little Mermaid (1989), The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: F/F, F/M, if you think it is written badly it was probably deliberately so, this is meant to be an english essay written by a fourteen year old girl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 03:34:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17779811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodiesofliv/pseuds/melodiesofliv
Summary: A boy in red and orange madras, drunk and menacing. A woman who always thought before she acted. And a girl, barely more than a filly ruined by too much rough handling. Ariel remembers them all, and this is how she begins her essay:'When I left the antique shop that afternoon...'





	Outsideren

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flyafar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyafar/gifts).



> **Disclaimer:** The Outsiders was written by S.E. Hinton. Disney owns what characters I used.
> 
>  **In Case You Missed It:** Written for the lovely flyafar, who requested 'a happy Elsanna version' of The Outsiders. Happy (belated) birthday!
> 
>  **I Urge You To Heed The Warnings:** While rape is only present by implication, that was enough for me to tick the warning. I am not sure that what violence I have written meets any standard for 'graphic depiction', but better safe than sorry, right? And being based on The Outsiders, it gets rough in parts, like when they're trash-talking the girls at the movies.
> 
>  **Other Notes of Import:** Adella doesn't die in Vietnam.

When I left the antique shop that afternoon... well, Atty would've said I wasn't thinking. I never did like how she said it, like I was some incompetent idiot who couldn't do a damn thing for herself. Most days it seemed like Atty wanted me to be perfect, but I never was perfect enough for Atty. And that afternoon, I was thinking; mostly about an adult magazine the boys at school had been passing around. I'd gotten a glimpse of one of the models by chance, and she was a redhead just like me, though a hell of a lot more good looking than me. Rabbit—at least that was her name in the magazine—had curves, long legs, and straight teeth; it wasn't so hard to see why she was in the magazine.

Not that I want to pose in any of those magazines, but looking like I _could_ pose would be better than being a flat-chested string bean. Della says I just need to be patient like she and Atty had to be, and I guess if I end up looking like they do, it'll be worth it. I just feel awkward. Atty says all fourteen year old girls feel awkward, and I'll get over it when I grow some boobs. I'd just like to grow some boobs sooner rather than later, and they tell me I'll be wishing it was later soon enough.

That day, if I wasn't thinking about Rabbit, I was thinking about the gadgets and gizmos aplenty at the antique shop, and it slipped my mind to call the gang and have someone come up to walk home with me. Sometimes, I could get lucky, and someone with a car would come pick me up. I always went to look at the antiques after school, on weekends, and I did it alone; it just wasn't something anyone else was interested in. Sometimes I'd get Anna to come with me, but after she'd fallen in love with a portrait of Joan of Arc, only to find she couldn't come anywhere near affording it, she'd just wander around half the store before going to a cafe to wait for me to finish browsing, and I was uncomfortable with making her wait. So I went alone.

It wasn't just the antique shop either; no one else liked walking or running the way I did—I was the star runner for the school—and while I was happy to curl up with a book and get lost in it, the others didn't understand why you'd want to. Kristoff figured if a book was any good, a movie of it would come out sooner or later, and he could watch that. And Elsa figured erotica was the only genre worth reading, but why would she read about people having sex when she could be having much better—and much more real—sex herself?

I did remember that I should've called, but it was probably too late by then. Not that it was dark, like. Just I would've been jumped whether I kept walking or went back to make a call. And I didn't expect to be jumped in broad daylight, not until I was, at any rate—they were in a car, cruising for trouble. I've tried outrunning cars; I can corner better, but without a safe house to get to, the car always wins. And I'm so tired I can't fight back.

There were five of them in the car. Two of them were girls, but three of them were boys, and it was the boys who got out. I didn't have a knife; Atty would've killed me if I carried one, never mind the fact that not carrying one was likely to get me killed. I kept walking, looking on the street for a weapon—Eugene Fitzherbert had once picked up his girlfriend's frying pan and held off three guys with knives and a fucking _horse_ of all things—but there wasn't anything. I wasn't going to be that picky; any kind of weapon would've done me. There _were_ chunks of concrete as big as my head, but I didn't have the strength to pick them up, nor the strength to slam any heads into them.

"Going somewhere, pretty cunt?"

I swallowed, walking faster. He was wearing a red and orange madras shirt. I can see it still... but not like it was that afternoon. He had a switchblade, and his friends grabbed me, holding me against a fence.

"You want to have some fun?"

"No," I said, trying to twist out of their grips, but one of them socked me in the ribs, and I went limp, gasping for air.

"We're in the mood for some fun," he said, and he approached me, lifting my chin up with the blade. "How about we give you a special little tattoo first?"

I started screaming. That startled him, and he punched me in the stomach as his friends released me. I doubled over, falling on the pavement, but the lack of air hurt worse than my grazed palms, and as I lay there, I heard silence. I rolled onto my back, looking up.

Elsa Iskall had a knife at his throat, and one at his crotch. She smiled, and it was a cold sort of smile. "Now, assuming you wish me to move my knives back to somewhere far safer for you, your two friends are going to walk away. Otherwise... well, I think you would prefer that I not elaborate on that, yes?"

She was a cold bitch, our Elsa, and although she was only nineteen, she was more dangerous than an Italian mafioso. If a crime had happened, she'd probably done it—not that it could be proven, mind. She'd never been charged the two or three times there _had_ been proof; it was rumoured that to get the charges disappeared, she'd fucked whoever she had to. Of course, when we asked her, she just smirked, and said nothing.

"You fucking cunt," he said.

"Why yes, I do fuck cunt, and twice on Sundays." Her voice grew colder still. "Do you want to die an emasculated virgin, little boy? You had a knife on my friend; therefore you must be the ringleader. Make your friends walk away."

"You're bluffing." His voice shook; he didn't think she was bluffing.

Elsa sighed, pulling her knives away. "Bluffing, me?" she said, her voice as sweet as syrup and ten times more frightening. "Do you boys think I was bluffing three years ago? Or have you all forgotten Hans Westergaard?"

They blanched, hightailing it back to their car. They did an illegal u-turn, and headed off in the other direction. They probably broke a few speed limits, too.

I sat up, wincing a little. Most of the pain had subsided, though I was still tender.

Elsa lifted me up, cold fingers probing along my injuries. "No breaks or fractures," she said. "At least, that is what I think. Either way, Eugene will be dragging you to see Rapunzel."

There were more footsteps, and I looked past Elsa to see the rest of the gang. There's seven of us in the gang: myself, Anna, Della, Kristoff, Elsa, Eugene, and Attina. I was the youngest at fourteen, not to mention a little sister twice over. It's the three of us—Atty, Della and myself, and it's been that way for months, ever since the rest of the family died in that avalanche in the Swiss Alps. Them dying changed everything, I guess.

Like, Atty used to have real long hair, and she wore these amazing dresses, but following the funerals, she chopped her hair into a bob, and started wearing pantsuits. I thought it was because she needed to get a job, but even after she got one in some law firm, she hardly wore anything else. She'll get into jeans and a shirt if we're getting into a rumble, but... she grew up too fast, Della says. Atty was eighteen when the avalanche happened, and she'd been making arrangements to go to university. She goes to university at night now through some deal with the firm. I don't think she's too happy. She wanted to be a marine biologist, not a lawyer... but she had two kid sisters—one fourteen, the other ten—to raise.

Although now that I'm thinking about it, Della stayed Della. I mean, she didn't change her hair, or her clothes or anything. She was a little quieter, more thoughtful, but that's like, a normal change, right? She's worked as many as three jobs since she turned fifteen, because we needed the money; I know she was a good waitress, and maybe I can her to put in a good word for me next year. Waitressing doesn't seem so hard. It wasn't until Della turned eighteen that anything seemed to change—she gave me all her old clothes, and started wearing more sophisticated stuff. Classy dresses, quality heels, stuff like that. She even started paying attention to her hair, and if any Havfrue girl would be asked to be in an adult magazine, it'd have to be Della.

I think she got a different job; I know she and Atty have been having screaming fights about it when they think I'm asleep, but they wake me up. Atty doesn't like that Della's bringing in more money than her, I guess, and Della won't change jobs because nothing else pays as well. I don't think it's so bad if Della brings in more money; having some actual savings sounds a lot better than not having a fridge for a week because Atty couldn't afford to repair it. That was a hard week.

Kristoff Bjorgman reached past Elsa to muss up my hair, and I ducked out from under. He worked at a garage, and unless he'd taken special care to wash up, his hands were always greasy with oil. I didn't want that in my hair, especially because he _didn't_ take special care, not unless he was eating or trying to impress a girl. He's good fun to be around, Kristoff is; he has this way of making you think anything's possible, and he'll do almost anything for shits and giggles. I remember he once climbed up onto the school roof to see if he could piss on the principal without getting caught, and yeah, I know that sounds like it wasn't the Monday after he turned eighteen.

I've got to hand it to him: he was altogether _too_ successful in pissing on the principal. He got caught, but to this day he maintains if he hadn't started laughing and fallen off the roof, he would've got away with it. And it didn't help either that his fall was broken by the vice-principal. He should've been expelled, and he's been uncharacteristically quiet about why he wasn't.

"Should Rapunzel look her over, Elsa?" Eugene said.

Elsa nodded. "I doubt she will find anything serious, but she has training I do not."

Maybe I've got too far ahead of myself; I should explain why I got jumped.

The Heights are part of our town. Pretty much only the rich people live there; they've got mansions, pools, cars—Eugene says if they could lower themselves to have something as menial as a grocery store in the Heights, they'd never leave. There's a pretty clear divide between them and us, and it mostly comes down to money: they have it, we don't. But we're rougher, wilder. I had a teacher last year, Mr Curtis; he said the Americans would call them the Socials, and us the Greasers. I guess those terms fit as well as anything would, but they don't seem natural to me, although that could just be me disliking English.

In any case, they jumped me because... it's what they do. Nothing much we can do about it except fight them, if there's a rumble going on. Otherwise, our gang tries not to fight, not that anyone's told me why. I guess part of it might have to do with Rapunzel Sonne; she lives in the Heights, and she _was_ a Social, up until about three and a half years ago. I remember that night, because not only did we find her in the park fountain, covered in blood, half-naked, and nearly dead—Atty took me to the movies. She wasn't going to let me see _that_ , after all. Whatever that was; no one's ever explained it.

Maybe going to the movies doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was. We never went to the movies, at least not unless one of the others paid for it, and I think that embarrassed Atty. She was always saying that I couldn't go with the others when they invited me. But that night, she spent the money she was supposed to buy new work clothes with. She wasn't able to buy new clothes for another six months.

Rapunzel's one of us, although she stays on the fringes. I guess it bothers me—the Socials abandoned her, and we took her in—but it's like the Socials put her in a tower and she's too scared to come out of it. She has this beautiful blonde hair, like a spilling wave of sunlight all the way to her ass. Della's beautiful, but Rapunzel's a goddess. She and Eugene have a thing going, even though she's a former Social and he most decidedly is not, but...

I don't quite know what Eugene does, and Atty and Della have both said they'll thrash me if I get involved in Eugene's business. That's enough of a warning to stay away; if we act up too much, or go too far over some line, we won't get to stay together. I feel like that makes it harder on me, though I guess if Atty or Della got arrested, they might not be considered appropriate guardians anymore. I guess it doesn't matter; if we need him, Eugene's there for us.

Anyway, Eugene and Rapunzel have a thing, which Della thinks is all so romantic; Eugene spent months being her friend, the gentleman the Socials have never been to me, and like a flower, Rapunzel bloomed, and started chasing him pretty hard. Not that he put up much of a resistance after she snogged him. 

"Why didn't you call someone?" Atty said, glaring.

"Me and Elsa were coming to get her," Anna Brannild said. "She wouldn't have reach—"

Atty glared at Anna, who closed her mouth, shrinking back, and Elsa was up in Atty's face the next instant. Atty paled, taking a step back.

"Leave them alone," Elsa said. "I seem to recall you making plenty of mistakes, Attina, and for much the same reasons as Ariel makes mistakes: teenagers are _goddamn idiots_. And you ever so much as _think_ of giving Anna shit again, what happened to Rapunzel will be a fucking walk in the park compared to what I will do to you. You understand me, Attina?"

Atty nodded, and there was real fear in her eyes.

Anna was the next youngest after me, and I don't know that I have words that can explain her. She was like a filly turned wild, one that's been ruined by too much rough handling. We were pretty sure it wasn't just the Socials beating her up; she had too much damage, too often... but we couldn't prove her parents had laid a hand on her, either. So we took her in, and she became our little sister. We protected her as much as we could; letting her stay on a couch or having meals, anything to keep her away from home. She lacked something that each of us had, be that Elsa's nerve, or Kristoff's devil may care attitude, or even my own singular obsessions, but she had something that made her the best of us. Despite all the reasons not to, she had unlimited patience. She could outwait anyone: if she had to knock on a door in order to build a snowman, she would still be there thirteen years later, knocking. I know I couldn't do that; it'd drive me nuts.

And she always believed the best of us; Elsa once stabbed a girl's eyes out in front of Anna, and Anna said if there'd been any other choice, Elsa would've taken it. Me, I'm not so sure she would've. Like, people thought Kristoff and Elsa were the same, but they weren't. Yes, they both did whatever they wanted, but Kristoff lacked impulse control, and would just do things if they grabbed his attention, whereas Elsa thought things out before she did anything she couldn't take back. If she took _this_ action, these possibilities opened up, while those possibilities closed off. But if she took _that_ action, different possibilities opened or closed. And she'd think about what was more advantageous—not that she always took the more advantageous option, mind.

Elsa lit a cigarette, smoking it fast. "Ariel needs to start carrying a blade—and if you start in on at me, Attina, you better have a blade yourself. I can get them to back down without using a knife, but that comes from my reputation, which Ariel does not have. A knife will make them think twice about messing with her. And you, Ariel, I can get you a knife, but not the nerve to use it."

Eugene snatched the cigarette from Elsa, grinning. "There's something about six inches of steel being buried—or about to be buried—in them that makes them want to take you more seriously."

"Exactly."

Atty threw her hands up, stalking off.

"I'll go talk to her," Della said. "Eugene, get Rapunzel."

Eugene nodded, but the gang was discussing who should be teaching me to use a knife. I would've preferred Atty or Della, though it was clear Atty wanted nothing to do with that business, and I think Della stayed out of it to appease Atty. In the end, they decided Anna could maybe use a refresher as well, which somehow meant that it'd be Kristoff, Elsa and Eugene doing the teaching.

* * *

Rapunzel turned up about the same time we got back to the house. She looked at Elsa smoking, sighed, and checked me over.

"Elsa was right; nothing broken, cracked, or fractured," she said. "You may be tender as you heal, but it's nothing serious. I'll leave you to judge what hurts and what doesn't, but if it hurts, stop doing whatever you're doing. I don't want you making it something serious. Comprende?"

She dropped onto the couch, accepting a beer from Eugene. "Eugene and I are headed to the movies later. Anyone want to come?"

"Working," Atty and Della chorused.

"I may as well," Elsa said. "I have nothing else happening for a while, and I need to stay downwind of trouble."

"What did you do?" Kristoff said. "And I might be in that; let me see if my car's holding up."

"Broch thinks I slashed her tyres."

"Did you?" I said.

"Not that she can prove."

"That doesn't clarify anything," Della said.

"Why do you think I said it that way?"

If Elsa was going, that meant Anna would go too, and I looked at Atty.

"It's not a school night," she said. "Go if you want."

* * *

When you go to the movies, you don't _just_ go to the movies. It's this whole elaborate thing where you stop at the mall and see what's selling, and some people like Elsa and Kristoff see what's out in the open that won't be missed until it's too late. And you also check in with your people, which means greasers for us. It's how we get caught up on who's doing what: skipping town, going to prison, and the reverse, dating, fighting, stealing... half the time catching up involves a fight because someone forgot they did something to some other party, and of course the other party hasn't forgotten.

We didn't do any of that. Elsa didn't want to run into Merida Broch, and no wonder. She's a fiery Scottish lass, and she's hard enough to understand when she's speaking English. When she starts cursing in Scottish, there's no hope. I've often wondered what half the things she says mean, but I've never asked her. It's not that I forget to ask, it's just... well, I can't wrap my tongue around the phrases she uses to ask her later, and in the moment she's so angry that it's never seemed like the right time to ask.

When we got to the movies, we approached from the back, where it's easy to jump the fence. That's the other thing about the movies; it wasn't until I was almost fourteen that I was big enough to jump the fence without assistance, and on the occasion you get caught, needing help means you can't get away. Rapunzel realised we were going to jump pretty quick, and she turned an exasperated look on Elsa and Eugene.

"Really, you're jumping the fence?"

Eugene held up his hands. "I wasn't planning to, although now that you mention it..."

"It has been more than two hours since I did anything illegal," Elsa said. "Would you rather I suffer symptoms of withdrawal?"

"I've told you before, that sort of withdrawal is fake," Rapunzel said. "And if it wasn't, what would you do when you have to sleep?"

Elsa opened her mouth, paused, and closed it. Before Rapunzel could even _start_ gloating, Anna piped up.

"She sleeps in places she's not allowed to be."

We snickered, Rapunzel sighed, and then she jumped the fence. We followed her, looking for seats. I was happy to sit anywhere, and I guess the others would've been too, but when Eugene and Elsa saw two girls sitting by their lonesome at the front, they exchanged glances, and headed straight for them, taking seats behind them. By the time we caught up with them, they were talking, loud enough that the girls could hear 'em, and dirty enough that I was embarrassed. We sat down, keeping our eyes on the screen, and then Anna excused herself for a drink.

I was kind of glad the entire gang wasn't there, or the talk would've been worse with the others joining in. I'm no saint; I've started the talk before, and once said something so filthy that Elsa was silent the rest of the night because nothing she said would best it. Those times, though, the girls had been our kind, which these two girls weren't. One was a brunette, and the other had raven hair. The brunette seemed the older of the two, but both looked at least seventeen. Maybe even eighteen, with their clothes and makeup. Something about them put me on edge, and I couldn't place it.

Elsa leaned back in her seat, putting her spread legs up, and gave us a wink. "Hey, Bookworm, put down the book and get your tongue in my cunt."

"My mouth goes anywhere near your clit, I'm biting it off," the brunette said. "Now put your legs down and shut the fuck up."

"Oh, she is a feisty one." Elsa smirked. A wicked light entered her eyes. "Bookworm, you just gave me a great idea."

"Is it to leave us the fuck alone?"

Elsa put her legs down, leaning forward so she was between the two girls. "Those guys were your boyfriends?"

"No," the brunette said.

The raven haired girl swallowed nervously. "So what if he is?"

"Well, if you care about him, or the other two..." Elsa said. "You might want to let them know something important: our cunts have teeth, and will not hesitate to bite cocks off."

"Now she's just talking shit," the brunette said. "Ignore her, Vanellope."

Elsa leaned back, her legs going back up. "Ignore me if you like, but I told you."

"You haven't told us anything worth paying attention to. Why don't you shut the fuck up and leave us alone?"

Elsa smiled. "I know you two; you come to the drag races."

"You've got two choices, bitch," the brunette said. "Shut the fuck up and get those legs down, or I'm calling the cops."

"Ask for Sheriff Woody; he has great tasting cum."

"You're disgusting."

"You sluts want a Coke?" Eugene said.

"Why don't the two of you fuck off and leave us in peace?" Vanellope said, her voice shaking. "Be nice, and leave us alone."

"What's being nice?" Eugene said. "So I'll bring you back a Coke."

"I will go with you," Elsa said, and she whispered something to Eugene.

They left, talking in low voices, and the brunette turned to look at me. "You going to start in on us?"

"Oh, knock it off, Belle," Rapunzel said. "She didn't do anything to you."

"She didn't stop 'em, either," Vanellope said.

"Like you didn't stop Ralph."

Rapunzel's voice was tired, but carried no censure. Still, her response shut Vanellope up, who turned back to the screen. Belle bit her lip, looking me over. And then she smiled. A full, pretty smile.

"You're the youngest Havfrue girl," Belle said. "I know your sister, Attina."

"Good for you," I said.

She looked at me. "You don't get along with her, do you?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, I suppose; it's your life," Belle said. "But it seemed painfully obvious from your 'good for you'."

"Oh, don't you start on me," I said. "I've had about all I can take of that shit from Atty. 'If you're interested, Ariel, then try acting like it'; 'you're not showing the emotions you claim to feel'; 'you don't know how you hurt people when you send the wrong message'. What a crock of shit. Atty should listen to herself. If she gives two shits about me, she doesn't show it. Never matters that I worked my ass off to get a B; she just yells at me that it isn't an A. Last week I cooked breakfast for everyone. Didn't get a thank-you, just a fucking lecture about how I could've burned the house down. Somehow, the fact that I cook more complicated dinners for myself because she and Della are always working slipped her mind. And two days ago, I came over with you, Rapunzel. You told me to go in the house, so I did. I left the door open for you, and the wind closed it. She lit into me for closing it when I knew you were coming in. Would it have killed her to assume the best of me instead of the worst?" I shrugged. "If Atty wants to play it that way, well, all I see from her is she doesn't give two shits about me, and she'd be happier if I'd ended up in a home or something like."

There was silence, and Rapunzel sighed, staring at her hands. "I feel like an idiot for not seeing it. I did wonder why she was so angry with you."

Anna turned up then, and Elsa and Eugene weren't too far behind. Elsa and Eugene sat down, and Eugene handed Belle and Vanellope a Coke each.

Belle took a look at it, and tossed it in Eugene's face. Vanellope shrugged, and drank it down; she wasn't about to pass up a free Coke.

"You know, most girls who throw Cokes in my face do so because they want my cock up their ass," Eugene said.

Belle's nose crinkled. "You're disgusting."

"Leave her alone, Eugene," Anna said, her voice quivering.

Eugene glanced at Anna, and then at Elsa, and the two left. I blinked, and stared at Anna. She looked at her lap, before focusing on the movie again, a slight smile crossing her face when I squeezed her hand.

Belle looked Anna over. "I suppose that took courage," she said. "The things I've heard about Elsa Iskall and Eugene Fitzherbert..."

"Elsa and Eugene are decent," I said flatly. Well, for some definition of decent, but I couldn't say that. They were far from perfect, but if you're not going to back your friends against detractors, if there are no bonds of sisterhood... your gang isn't much of a gang.

"They go easier on you if they respect you," Rapunzel said, which was true enough. The trouble was finding someone outside the gang they respected.

"I'd rather not have the respect of a whore and a drug dealer," Vanellope spat.

"Good for you that you don't then," Rapunzel said coldly.

The movie wasn't anything special, but it was a decent way to spend an evening. Come the end of the movie, we discovered Belle and Vanellope had no way of getting home—they'd come with their boyfriends, and the boys had taken off when the girls said it was the booze or them.

"I guess I can give you a ride," Rapunzel said. "I'm going that way, after all. But we'll have to walk to the car; I didn't drive here."

Of course we never got to get that far.

We were walking back, not really talking about anything much—Vanellope's respect comment had kind of killed the conversation, and any attempts to start it up again never really sparked.

"Well... fuck," Belle said.

I looked up. A car was coming our way, going slow as it weaved back and forth.

"Maybe they won't notice us," Vanellope said.

Rapunzel and Anna pulled out switchblades, holding them ready, but the car passed us, and we thought we were safe. We walked further on, and began to cut through the local park.

We reached the fountain at the same time as Ralph, Adam and Gaston—those were their names, although I didn't know that at the time—did, and for a moment we all stared at each other.

"Why're you hanging out with this trash?" Ralph said, his words slurred.

"I've told you," Vanellope said, swallowing, "that I won't have anything to do with you if you're drinking. And you stink of it, Ralph."

"It wasn't much," Ralph said, his hands clenching.

"It was enough!"

Rapunzel was pale and shaking, and she couldn't look away from the boys. Anna slipped up beside her, squeezing her hand.

"We don't drink enough to be concerned about," Gaston said, and he glared at Belle. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll go back to the car while we teach these whores a lesson."

I saw a beer bottle on the ground, and I snatched it up, smashing the bottom off against the fountain. Rapunzel and Anna had their switchblades.

"You're drunk," Belle said. "You should go home before anything bad happens."

"The only bad thing that'll happen is we'll fuck your asshole without lube if you don't get in the car, Belle," Adam said.

Belle swallowed, stepping back, and then the three rushed me. They grabbed me, holding me tight, and though I lashed out with the bottle and kicked my legs, I couldn't stop them for dragging me over to the fountain. Rapunzel had frozen, her breathing rapid and panicky, and Anna was too small to fight them off by herself.

My head hit the water, and I felt someone holding me down, hands and fists slamming into my body. I thrashed, trying to break free, but I couldn't overpower them. I tried to hold my breath, but I'd used up too much oxygen fighting...

The last thing I was aware of was a hot splash against my neck.

* * *

I came to, coughing water and spluttering. Rapunzel was kneeling over me, but something in her eyes said she wasn't all there. I rolled over, and I saw Ralph lying on the fountain path, a dark pool of liquid growing underneath him.

"Is he..."

"Yes," Rapunzel said, her voice strange. "They were going to... they were going to do what they did to me. Only you weren't going to live through it. And Anna..."

"I slit his throat," Anna said, her words calm. "I had to, Ariel. You would've drowned if I hadn't. I took Rapunzel's switchblade, and I used 'em both to slit his throat."

I coughed up water, looking around. Everyone else had split, and no wonder.

"What're we going to do?" I said, and I must've sounded at least somewhat hysterical. "You get life for killing people, Anna!"

"It'd be better than what I got now," Anna said, and she stared at her hands.

"Besides, it was in defence," Rapunzel said. "You can get off with hardly any punishment then."

"Yeah, because they'll believe us," I said, coughing. "Those other boys will claim it was unprovoked, and you heard what they said to Belle. Belle and Vanellope will back 'em up, and then where are we!? We're fucked, Rapunzel!"

"We have to find Elsa and Eugene," Rapunzel said. "They'll know what to do. Do you feel like you can walk, Ariel? Tell me if something feels wrong, okay?"

I pushed myself up, biting back a snarl of pain. "I don't know, but I guess I've got no choice."

There weren't many places Elsa and Eugene would be, and after a quick discussion, we figured our best shot was going to be Ella Aschen's place. She was a local bookie who threw wild parties almost every weekend, and Atty and Della both had said if I went anywhere near her place, they'd thrash me. I wouldn't have gone near Aschen even if I'd been allowed; I'd been terrified of her ever since she beat up her two step-sisters using a glass bottle and a pair of heels.

When we got there, we hammered on the door, and Ella answered. Behind her, a party was going, and she was dressed in this close-fitting, cleavage-exposing dress. She had a bottle of vodka in each hand, and neither was completely full.

"Here to place a bet, are you?"

"Elsa, or Eugene," Anna said. "We came to see one or the other. Won't say no to both."

"They're busy, kids," Ella said, taking a swig from a bottle. "Wait until the morning, can't you?"

Rapunzel grabbed Ella by her bra, yanking her in. "Listen up, Aschen, you fucking bitch. You're going to go inside and send Elsa and Eugene out here—tell 'em Anna, Ariel, and Rapunzel are out here; they'll listen to that—or I'm going to fucking rearrange these implants you call tits. You fucking got me!?"

Ella's eyes widened, and she nodded, taking a step back before whirling around and darting back inside.

"That wasn't like you, Rapunzel," I said.

Rapunzel glanced at me, her eyes dark with memories. "Ella was drunk," she said. "I've known her for years, and trust me, when she's drunk, you're only going to change her mind if you threaten her." She smiled, a brittle kind of smile. "Besides, just because I avoid scuffles and the like doesn't mean I couldn't handle myself in one."

Any reply I could've made to that was cut off by Elsa coming to the door, followed by Eugene. Rapunzel told them the story, and Anna blushed, hiding behind me as they stared at her.

"Right then," Eugene said as Rapunzel trailed off. "I think—Ariel, you're soaking wet."

Elsa frowned. "She's covered in blood, too. I have some clothes upstairs; she needs a shower." She hustled me inside, taking us upstairs to a huge room. She shoved me into a bathroom that looked like it cost more than Atty made in a week, and when I looked blankly at her, she sighed. "Either wash yourself, or I will do it for you, Ariel."

The night was catching up to me, and I didn't move. I guess Elsa figured that out, for she stripped her clothes off, and started pulling off mine. It was strange. Elsa's hauled me out of rumbles sometimes, and she's never gentle when that happens—there's not enough time to be gentle, really—but she was really trying to be gentle. I winced as she took off my clothes, and cold fury crossed her face as she took in the bruises and cuts on my body.

She didn't even bother to cover up as she opened the bathroom door.

"Camera. Now. Did you even check her over, Rapunzel!?"

"I did!" Rapunzel sounded indignant.

"Ariel's in no shape to get clean," Elsa said, and though I didn't register it, it must have hit the others hard. Elsa never uses contractions, not unless she's really pissed off. "I've got to wash her, so I just pulled her clothes off to start on that. She's going to look like she was beaten half to death over the next few days, and if those bruises were even a day older, I'd beat the shit out of Attina and Adella both."

"It's bad then?" Eugene said.

"I think we're a long way past bad," Elsa said, and she thrust her hand out for the camera. "Get in here, Rapunzel; you've done med. You're the closest thing we've got to an authority, and I'm not letting the kid near the cops now."

Rapunzel came in, her face paling as she saw me. Elsa took perhaps a half a dozen photos before she and Rapunzel washed me clean, and then she took a dozen more.

When we came out of the bathroom, Eugene was waiting. He had a ragged looking leather wallet with money, which he tossed to Anna, and a gun, which he handed to Rapunzel. Elsa set about finding clothes, and somehow managed to find two sets of clothes for us all. Mine were about three sizes too big, but they were dry, and that was enough for the moment.

"I want them out of here, before things heat up," Elsa said. "I've got to get these photos developed before then, too. If I show Woody these pictures, he'll listen; the man's not unreasonable. It'll help that it was Anna. It was Anna, right?"

"I had a flashback and froze," Rapunzel said, and she looked at her hands. "I just... I'm sorry."

"Fine," Elsa said. "Well, running away isn't the best thing you could do, but it's understandable—everyone'll buy into the idea that you were spooked."

"But why?" Anna said.

"What they did to Ariel will keep you out of prison, Anna," Elsa said. "And I do not want you in prison, sweetheart. Prison does awful things to you, things you cannot imagine, and I do not want you ever to be able to."

Anna nodded.

"Do you remember when we went to Aalborg with your parents?" Eugene said. "We saw a whole bunch of boring shit, including that now abandoned church."

"What are you saying, Eugene?" I said.

"There's a train leaving for Aalborg at twenty-five past twelve," Eugene said. "If you hitch a ride on it, you can be in Aalborg and in that church before anyone's aware you're missing. On that note, do Attina and Adella know?"

I shook my head.

"It can wait until tomorrow," Elsa said. "When you get to Aalborg, it will be too early for anything to be open. Get out first thing, buy some supplies, and then _stay in the church_."

* * *

There's a place where cargo trains come to a near stop, which makes it easy to jump on if you're so inclined. We hid out there, and when the train came, we scrambled aboard one of the carriages. There were a bunch of crates and some sacks, and we made ourselves as comfortable as we could, trying to stay hidden.

Rapunzel looked at Anna and then at me. We both looked wrecked, I guess, because she shook her head. "You girls sleep. I'll keep watch until Aalborg."

That was the last I remembered until Rapunzel was shaking us awake. I was still half asleep as we jumped off the train, but the fall did some work towards waking me up—and Anna too, if her grumbling was any indication. We dusted ourselves off, and we began the walk to the church. It wasn't hard, not in the sense of hills and rocks tripping you up, but it was at least a couple of hours before sunrise, so we had to rely on memory to find our way to the church, and that took us a good while. There wasn't anyone around to ask, and if there had been, I don't think we'd have bothered them.

By the time we got to the church, Rapunzel was dead on her feet, and despite sleeping on the train, Anna and I weren't too far behind. A little rummaging turned up a bunch of churchy linen, and we took it to the front of the church, making it into a makeshift bed. We didn't talk; there was nothing to talk about. However justified, Anna had killed someone, and we'd bolted. That was in the back of our minds, for sure, but when a quarter of an hour had passed, and no one was asleep, it seemed obvious it was more than that keeping us awake.

You see, the church had been abandoned the previous year. Now, the church officials had come forth, stating that careful analysis and prayer had shown it was better to build a new church elsewhere, rather than maintain the current one. What they didn't address was the open secret: a little over a year ago, a priest tried to drown a baby during a baptism. Thankfully, he'd failed, and afterwards claimed to have been subject to demonic possession. Whether he was telling the truth or not, the parishioners hadn't felt comfortable returning to this very church, and I guess that was a large factor in the abandonment as well.

Abandoned places are great for messing around in. We were once messing around in an abandoned mansion, setting off fireworks, breaking what wasn't already broken, and we kind of ended up burning the place down. No one pinned it on us, and it was a favour to the guy who owned the land, as he was no longer obligated to restore the mansion to historical accuracy or some shit. So he ended up building the modern house he'd wanted in the first place. But no one had come here to do anything like that. The windows were intact, the pews still standing.

We weren't _stupid_ ; we knew we were safe here only as long as no one came in and found us, but it was somehow comforting to see that even teenagers like us weren't coming here to amuse themselves with a bit of messing around. Perhaps it was only an illusion of security, but we'd take anything we could get. In the end, we must've slept, because I opened my eyes to sunlight.

I got up, stretching, before hurrying to the bathroom. The water was still working, and a bit of cold water woke me up. I could see out a window; if I judged the sun right, it was about midday. I figured it was late enough to at least try waking the others, but when I went back to where we'd slept, Rapunzel was sleeping, and Anna was gone.

I shook Rapunzel awake, and she stumbled off to the bathroom as well, but when she returned, she saw what I hadn't: a bible left out, opened with a bookmark. The bookmark seemed to point to Ruth 1:6, and after reading it, Rapunzel nodded.

"She's gone to get food; she'll be back."

I read Ruth 1:6 myself, and stared at her. "I don't follow."

Before Rapunzel could explain, there was a long whistle. We knew that whistle; our gang used it, as did Broch's. Anna slipped in, carrying three bags.

"You didn't wake us?" Rapunzel said.

"I figured no one would pay much attention to one person," Anna said, "but they might with two or three of us." She dropped the bags onto a pew, starting to unpack. "I didn't want to get too much food; I looked around here, and even if there were electricity, there isn't a fridge, and we don't have enough money that we can afford to let food spoil. I got a loaf of bread, a little roast beef, a box of matches..."

I dug into one of the bags, pulling out some peroxide, and a couple of boxes of hair dye. I let them fall to the pew, looking at Anna.

"We've got to cut our hair," Anna said, and she looked scared but defiant. "And we'll have to dye it too. We can't match our descriptions."

"I won't have to dye it," Rapunzel said grimly, and she pulled out her switchblade, handing it to me. "Cut it off a little higher than neck length, please."

"What do you mean, you won't have to dye it?" I said, holding the switchblade. "And you've been growing your hair for years!"

"I'll just grow it out again," Rapunzel said. "Now stop waffling, Ariel, and cut it off."

I wound her hair in my hand, and I slashed the blade through her hair. The knife went through her hair like it was butter, and Rapunzel shook her head, letting her hair fly about.

"Well, that's a weight off," she said, and then she saw Ariel and I gaping at her. "What?"

"Your hair... you're a brunette now," Anna said, holding a book—paperback by the looks of it—in her hands.

"I don't know that I am," Rapunzel said, and she tied her hair up in a sort of bun. "What I know is that until my hair grows past neck length, it appears I'm a brunette. Past the neck, it's blonde, and I make a much better blonde than brunette. What do you have there?"

"It's um, a copy of Herodotus, The Histories," Anna said. "I know Ariel's always wanted to read it, and I thought reading it aloud might kill some time."

The bags were empty, and Anna pulled out her switchblade.

I sighed, and sat down, taking the Histories from her. Fourteen years had seen my hair get to the middle of my back, just about, and after some whispered words, they hacked it off at the neck. That made it worse, somehow; we can't all have hair like Rapunzel's, but if it'd come off easy...

We did the same for Anna, and then Rapunzel took charge of the hair dye, and the Histories. Anna and I were lying on the floor, letting everything do its work, and Rapunzel read to us. What I found interesting was how Herodotus seemed to take down what was said, without judgement or comment on its veracity.

When Rapunzel released us, we went to the bathroom. She'd done well; our hair was black, and though it looked strange, it was harder to recognise us.

With little to do, and decidedly less food than we would've liked, the days kind of blurred together. The most exciting thing that happened was getting a turn to go get food, and even then we went late in the evening, when things might be discounted, but more importantly, no one paid much attention to us.

I was sitting on the back steps of the church one evening, watching the stars. Rapunzel had gone to get a little more in the way of supplies, and when Anna dropped beside me, I didn't acknowledge her, lost in my own thoughts.

"Ariel?" Anna said.

"Hmm?"

"A week ago, we were normal kids," Anna said, and her voice quivered. "I hadn't killed anyone, and your hair wasn't..."

"Remember me when I am gone away," I said, staring up at the sky. I don't know why I said it, other than that I was thinking about this whole mess, and wondering what my parents and sisters would've made of this, if they'd been alive. Except of course, if they'd been alive, none of this would've even happened. We'd have gone to the movies as a family, and never walked home with Belle and Vanellope...

"What did you say?"

I leaned back, trying to remember the poem; we'd been learning it for English when the avalanche happened. We were all supposed to be on that trip, but Atty had been invited to a classmate's birthday party, and Della and I didn't like skiing, and with Atty offering to babysit, we were allowed to stay behind.

 _"Remember me when I am gone away,_   
_Gone far away into the silent land;_   
_When you can no more hold me by the hand,_   
_Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay._   
_Remember me when no more day by day_   
_You tell me of our future that you plann'd:_   
_Only remember me; you understand_   
_It will be late to counsel then or pray._   
_Yet if you should forget me for a while_   
_And afterwards remember, do not grieve:_   
_For if the darkness and corruption leave_   
_A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,_   
_Better by far you should forget and smile_   
_Than that you should remember and be sad."_

Anna stared up at the whole of the moon. "Who wrote that?"

"Christina Georgina Rossetti; she was an English poet last century."

"It's an interesting poem." Anna's voice was quiet. "You know how Elsa thinks about what she can't do if she does something she can't take back? The poem's like that. I killed that boy to save you, and I'd do it again, but the girl I was, she's gone away..."

"She's talking about death, Anna," I said.

"Rosetti doesn't reference death explicitly," Anna said. "She talks a bunch about losing someone, and only having memories. People don't have to die for you to lose them. They can decide they'd rather not be friends with you anymore. But what I was trying to get at is that things happen, and you lose the person you would've been." She bit her lip. "Atty isn't who she would've been if there'd been no avalanche."

That much was true enough, and if it were true for Atty, why couldn't it be true for everyone? And yet...

"I don't like the thought that I've lost versions of myself before I could even know 'em," I said.

"I couldn't talk about this with Elsa," Anna said.

"Of course you could," I said. "Elsa would listen to _anything_ you wanted to say."

"Really?" Anna's face shone like the night, and I nodded.

"She adores you. If she was here, she'd recite a poem for you, and tell you it was perfectly you."

"Which poem?"

"She only told me once," I said. "Give me a moment."

 _"She walks in beauty, like the night_   
_Of cloudless climes and starry skies;_   
_And all that’s best of dark and bright_   
_Meet in her aspect and her eyes;_   
_Thus mellowed to that tender light_   
_Which heaven to gaudy day denies._

 _One shade the more, one ray the less,_   
_Had half impaired the nameless grace_   
_Which waves in every raven tress,_   
_Or softly lightens o’er her face;_   
_Where thoughts serenely sweet express,_   
_How pure, how dear their dwelling-place._

 _And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,_   
_So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,_   
_The smiles that win, the tints that glow,_   
_But tell of days in goodness spent,_   
_A mind at peace with all below,_   
_A heart whose love is innocent!"_

"She could have any girl she wants," Anna said. "I'm nothing special... why would she want me?"

I looked at her. Most of the gangs liked girls, and Rapunzel was bi, but Anna had never expressed any interest one way or another. It wasn't safe for her to openly like anyone—her parents would've made her life even worse than they usually did.

"You like her?"

"I love her. And not so innocently either."

She was grinning, and I grinned back.

"Tell her," I said. "She'll be so thrilled. She's wanted you for years."

"Maybe I will, at that," Anna said. "Maybe I will."

* * *

"Have none of you been eating?"

I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, looking up at Elsa. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought it was about time I checked up on you three. Now, have you been eating?"

"Some," Rapunzel said, stretching. "Not as much as we'd like; there's no way to keep anything cold. We don't go out except in the evening to avoid suspicion."

"I got hauled in," Elsa said, all nonchalant like. "The police are looking for you in Copenhagen. Had to do some quick thinking on that one, I did." She ran a hand through her hair, dropping into a pew. "Belle and Vanellope were honest concerning the boys being the aggressors, including the threats made against Belle. Combined with the photos of Ariel, the police think Anna will have no trouble, but there will have to be some formal hearing in the near future. As I understand it, the opinion is that Anna will have no trouble, but Adam and Gaston will spend some time away from society."

"Hopefully they'll learn to be decent members of society," Rapunzel said.

Elsa looked around the church. "Leave your stuff here," she said. "I skipped breakfast, and you three need more food. We can go to a cafe or whatever, and think about what to do after."

"You want us to go home," Anna said.

"I think it is safe to go home, but it is not my choice."

"Sounds safe enough," I said, following Elsa out to the car. I left the front for Anna, hopping in the back with Rapunzel. "I don't mind going back, if Anna's not going to be in trouble."

"Atty and Della are worried sick about you," Elsa said, starting the car.

"Like Atty would worry about me," I said, staring out the window as we drove into town.

"I know things have been... less than ideal," Elsa said. "You should have seen Atty; it took her three days to realise you ran away because Anna killed someone. She thought you had run away because, and I quote, 'I've been such a bad guardian she'd be better off with almost anyone else. She probably feels like she can't do anything right, and why should she? I never say anything _nice_ to her, it's always some variation of why can't she just stop _sucking_? Of course she'd run away from that; _I_ did it when my parents did it to me!'"

"I don't remember that," I said.

"You were too little, I imagine," Elsa said. "She made it two kilometres by eating all her supplies, and returned home because she wanted your mother's garlic bread. Your parents were less than perfect with Atty, and Della too, but they learned to be better parents." Her eyes met mine in the rear-view mirror. "This does not excuse, nor justify what Atty did, but I hope you understand that it _explains_."

"What?"

"You will be a good parent, because you had a good example in your parents," Elsa said. "Perhaps you will be good also because you have Atty's terrible example. However, like your parents before her, Atty needs to learn to be a good parent. She drew on the only example she had, because although your parents changed, it was too slow and too late for Atty to learn better examples."

"So I'm supposed to forgive her just because she didn't know any better?"

"No." Elsa parked the car, turning around to look at me. "If it's what you want, Ariel, don't ever forgive her. She's hurt you, and I'm not going to brush that aside. I don't know if she was exaggerating out of guilt and worry or whatnot, but I'm impressed with you. Fucking hell, Atty was only allowed to keep you and Della if the three of you behaved, and if even half of what Atty said was true, you would've been within your rights to get taken away." Her eyes bored into mine. "Look, there's no good way to say this. There's a chance you might be taken away from Atty and Della. If that's what you want, I understand. It isn't what Atty and Della want, and Della's dragged Atty to a family counsellor so Atty can get herself sorted. Atty wants to be better for you."

"So what?" I said, shrugging. "Having guardians who assume the best of me would make a nice difference."

"Oh, I'm going to kill Atty," Elsa said, and she got out of the car.

We were so hungry that we ordered the hot breakfast special, and when the waitress came with the food, Elsa sent her back for another three specials. It was a good thing she did, too. We wolfed down our meals quicker than I could remember eating anything before, and speaking for myself, I wasn't anywhere near full.

"After Anna killed Ralph," Elsa said, eating her eggs at a normal pace, "it became open warfare. When Adam and Gaston were picked up by the police, the wind changed—I think they were instigating most of the ill sentiment. Not even the Socs can maintain rage when two of their own are saying _someone_ would have died that night. Killing someone in defence of another is a lot easier to swallow than killing someone for shits and giggles." She dropped her cutlery on the plate. "Even so, there will be a rumble tomorrow night. I think it got watered down once Adam and Gaston were out of the picture. We were fighting for control of the town at one point."

"What are we fighting for now?" Anna said.

Elsa shrugged. "Well, even though we lost the initial reason for having a rumble in the first place, it somehow never occurred to anyone to call the goddamn thing off. I did suggest there was no need, and by the reactions to _that_ , I think the rumble is happening for the hell of it. Eugene should be able to tell us more when we get back."

"Boys?" Rapunzel said.

"Boys," Elsa said, rolling her eyes. She leaned back in the booth. "Are you three going to be done any time soon?"

"I don't suppose my parents asked about me?" Anna said, forking the last of her breakfast into her mouth.

"Atty and Della were worried about you, and Kristoff headed to Copenhagen to look for you."

"My parents?" There was steel in Anna's voice, something we didn't hear very often, but when we did, Anna meant business.

Elsa sighed. "No," she said. "Why does it matter so much, Anna? My mother doesn't care if I'm assaulted in a gutter, or dead in a hotel or what, and it doesn't bother me."

Anna stared at the table, not saying anything. I wasn't sure I believed Elsa, myself. It's kind of Elsa's thing, not using contractions—she says it's a formal, queenly thing—so when she slips into contractions, it's... well, you pay attention. Maybe she wasn't bothered by it. It did take a lot to rattle Elsa. But hearing the contractions, I thought to myself, she wants to be bothered by it.

We could've gone straight home. If we had...

But I finally had a copy of the Histories. And there wasn't any way I was giving that up. So Elsa drove us back to the church.

When we got there, there was a crowd watching it burn, and I was out of the car before it'd even stopped moving. I heard Elsa and Rapunzel cussing me, but I ignored them. It was mostly little kids in the crowd, and I ran up to one of the adults.

"What's going on?"

"We brought the children here for a picnic," she said. "Well, not here here—the park nearby. We let them go off to explore, and some came screaming back about a fire. Guess it's not a bad thing—no one liked this place."

I nodded. The book was probably gone, and we weren't even halfway through it. Anna came up behind me, and she squeezed my hand.

"Plumette!"

Plumette turned, looking at a portly man. "What is it, Cogsworth?"

"We're missing four kids—Moana, Chip, Felix, and Ursula."

"I'm sure they're—"

A faint, but distinct screaming pierced the air, coming from inside the church, and the next instant, I was running. I didn't dare go near the main entrance—the fire was too strong—so I smashed a window out, hauling myself in. Once inside, I could hear more screaming, so I headed that way. Behind me, feet dropped to the floor, and I looked back, seeing Anna.

"Where are the kids?" she said.

"I think they're in one of the side rooms. Maybe one of the ones we used?"

I skipped aside as a piece of roof fell. Anna nodded as another scream rent the air, and we hauled ass, choking on smoke and dodging fire. The side rooms, we thought, had been used by the clergy for various purposes, and we were lucky to find the kids in the first room we checked. It was lucky too, that the fire wasn't so bad here. That didn't mean much, though, not when it was raging in the main area.

The kids were maybe six to eight years old, and they were fucking terrified. They stopped screaming when they saw us, and Anna gave them a grim smile, smashing a window open. Something must've told her we shouldn't go out the other way, and that was a smart move, for behind us there was a thundering crash as a larger part of the roof caved in. The kids started screaming again, but I ignored them, grabbing one of the girls and tossing them out the window. She was caught by Cogsworth, I think; it was hard to tell. Anna got a kid out, and then I got a third. The kid dropped something when I picked him up, but I didn't have time to look at it, despite his protests.

"By Vár's sopping cunt, _get out_!" Elsa said, and her voice was a terrified shriek. "That place is going to fall in!"

I pulled back, and glanced at Anna, who held a struggling kid in her arms. She'd heard, but I reiterated it anyway. "Kid goes out, then you, then me. Got it?"

She nodded, rushing for the window as another crash reverberated through the burning structure. I had to wait anyway, so I stepped over to the dropped item, feeling around the warming floor for it. At the window, Anna tossed the kid out, and by the way the kid screamed, she must've broken an arm, but a broken arm is nothing compared to dying.

"Ariel, come on!"

I found the item, and I saw Anna scrambling through the window. I headed after her. And then there was only darkness. I'm told I screamed, but I don't remember.

* * *

I drifted in a sea of darkness. Sometimes I heard talking, but it would drift away before I could make sense of it. But eventually, I came out of that dark sea into a bright, sterile world. I was face down on a hospital bed. I felt... strange. It was like I was hurt, but the pain was far away, too distant to be mine. I turned my head. Atty was slumped in a hospital chair, and I wondered how she could sleep. I guess I woke her, cause she jerked up, looking at me.

"Ariel?"

"Atty?"

My voice sounded terrible, weak and scratchy.

Atty stared at me. "Are you feeling okay, sweetie?"

I looked at her like she was crazy, and she smiled, but it didn't seem real.

"Do you want me to call the nurses?" she said.

I shook my head. "What happened, Atty?"

"You and Anna got the kids out," Atty said, and there was a strange look on her face, a hesitation in her voice. It seemed she chose her words carefully, as if afraid of what reaction would come. "Anna's fine; her clothes were on fire, but Rapunzel smothered them. She was treated for a few burns and smoke inhalation. Elsa went in after you. Her arm got burned badly enough that she might never use it again, but we don't know for sure."

"What about me?"

Atty was silent for a long time, and just as I was going to ask again, she answered. "They thought you were going to die," she said. "You got hit by falling timber; that's why Elsa went in after you." She wrung her hands. "If she had been slower to act, you would've died just from the burns. She got you out before you could get worse than second degree burns."

"What aren't you telling me, Atty?"

She swallowed, her eyes meeting mine. "Between the timber and Elsa getting you out, the damage done to your spine was too much. You're going to have to use a wheelchair."

"...leave me alone, please..."

Atty started to say something, but she stopped, nodding. "Okay." She checked her watch. "Visiting hours are almost over anyway. I'll come back tomorrow, and if you still want to be alone... that'll be okay, too."

* * *

You'd think that what Atty told me would've been enough, but it wasn't all of it, not by a long shot. It turns out saving kids from certain death is kind of impressive, especially when the little shits—Kristoff's words, not mine—started the fire themselves. Seems Ursula had gotten a hold of her mother's cigarettes, and thought it'd be fun to try smoking them. Of course Plumette and Cogsworth had praised us to the heavens (though Cogsworth said our heroics were the height of idiocy, and you know, he was right); they hadn't known any reason they shouldn't. So it all got in the papers, and we weren't just heroes, but famous heroes.

The fame brought its own problems, although I was lucky in a sense. Being stuck in hospital isolated me from what was going on, and by the time I was allowed out, no one really cared about me being a hero. Which was better than what happened to Anna, not that anyone was certain about happened. In the end, what we managed to piece together from the official facts amounted to a whole lot of not very much, but our theories made sense to us, at least.

What we knew was that Anna's parents were dead, and Elsa and Anna had both disappeared; they hadn't been seen in months. I said earlier that we were pretty sure her parents beat the shit out of her. Rapunzel said it would've been harder to abuse Anna, what with the new fame she had, but you don't break habits that easy, and Kristoff said the last time he saw Elsa, she was entering Anna's house with a cold look of fury. It's not too hard to imagine that Elsa found Anna being bashed, and that she killed the perps.

Della somehow finagled a look at the coroner reports, and best as the coroner could figure, a spear-like object pierced them both. No weapon was found at the scene, nor was one recovered elsewhere. Adding to the confusion was the presence of an abnormally large amount of water at the scene, and the coroner noted that it was possible, in theory, for the weapon to have been composed of ice. However, such a weapon was implausible, as in their opinion, the ice would've shattered when the assailant attempted to skewer them, and on that note, it was worth recording the angle of penetration made no sense. Given the crime scene as recorded, whatever had pierced the Brannild adults had done so at an angle that no assailant would've attacked from.

Or well, maybe it is too hard to imagine Elsa killing them. Della pointed out that unless Elsa could create ice out of thin air, the coroner's report seemed certain it wasn't possible for Elsa to have killed anyone.

I wasn't needed for the hearing that Elsa had told us might be a possibility, and wouldn't have made it in any case. I do wish I'd been there; no one can tell me the story without laughing. Apparently the case was decided before it even began, because Adam Bete and Gaston LeGume decided it would be a great idea to get Anna, Belle, and Vanellope to go along with their side of the story by pulling guns on them. In front of police, no less. That got them a long sentence in prison, instead of a short sentence in the places they send teenagers.

I learned all this much later, of course—no one wanted to set my recovery back, and it was hard enough dealing with the social workers assigned to us to make sure Atty was a good enough guardian. Atty was still seeing the family counsellor, and although progress was slow, and she still did the same old things, she was catching herself when she did, and sometimes not even doing them in the first place. But there was something still wrong about it all, and it wasn't until I remembered talking to Anna about Christina Rossetti's poem that I figured it out.

I wanted Atty to be better, yes, but... more than that, I wanted her to feel like a sister again. For the first ten years of my life, we'd been sisters, and I wanted that sister back, although if Anna's interpretation could be trusted, that version of Atty was long lost to me. I'm not sure that makes any sense, but the counsellor seemed to understand. She explained it to Atty and Della until they understood, at least, and things... well, if they were far from perfect some days, at least they were improving.

* * *

Boxes lined the room, sealed by tape. There was one box on the bed, its flaps splayed open, but the woman in the chair beside the bed seemed to have forgotten it. In her lap were two books. One was an exercise book, its cover faded and pages yellowed. The words inside were still clear, though it wouldn't have mattered if they weren't, for Ariel remembered every painful word.

The second book was singed around the edges, its cover half burned off. Along the spine were two words: 'The Histories'. That day in the church, the child had found the book, dropping it in the confusion and terror that followed. Ariel opened the book, letting the pages riffle by. If she hadn't gone back... if she had followed Anna to the window...

She let the Histories fall shut, putting the exercise book and the Histories in the box, closing the flaps over before sealing it shut.

"Attina! Adella! I'm ready."

As she began to wheel herself out, she saw a folder paper in her lap; one that hadn't been there before. She picked it up, unfolding it.

_Ariel,_

_I'm putting this in here, though I don't know if you'll ever see it. But I know you love this book, so I'm hoping it won't be too long. I liked having you and Rapunzel read the Histories; some of the things in it were crazy. But we never finished it, so... maybe you will, and you'll see this._

_By now, I figure someone's told you what happened, so I'll let that suffice for the nonce, until we see each other again._

_No, it's not goodbye forever, Ariel._

_You and the gang can find us again someday. For now, Elsa and I are heading to the valley of eagles. I told her how I felt, and she kissed me. We're going to live together, Ariel, and I don't think I've ever been happier. If you come too late... I guess there are other copies of the Histories._

_Your friend,_   
_Anna._

"ATTY! DELLA! COME NOW!"

The two women came running—Della in a towel, and Atty wearing jeans and a bra.

"I was trying to shave," Della said. "What's got you so excited? We don't have that much time left before the movers get here."

"And I was dressing," Atty said. "What do you need, Ariel?"

Ariel held up the letter. "It's not what I need," she said, and a smile crossed her face. "It's what the gang needs. Our wayward sisters left us a clue, girls, and we're going to go find them."


End file.
